There is no disputing what a difficult time this is for many people: isolation is tough, you may be worrying about your health, your relatives’ and friends’ health. Sadly some of you may have lost someone already, please accept our sincere condolences if this applies to you. Many of you are facing new pressures with children home schooling. People are worrying that their jobs are under threat, companies are closing, people have been on reduced hours or lost their jobs already – the list goes on.
Some of you may be thinking: what’s new, the first lockdown had these problems, surely we are all adapting – and yes many people have adapted but for others it’s getting very hard indeed. It really depends on your own situation and how you have been touched by the virus. Horse owners now have the added pressure with extra costs to contend with; many of you have the worry about the cost of keeping your horses with hay prices rising rapidly and serious hay shortages looming – having a horse right now is expensive. As a community we have all been affected in some way or another.
Supportive Club:
As a club we want to support our members through the next few months and ask you to support each other and to reach out for help if you need it. Please feel free to chat in the Members’ Facebook Group page, just say hello and share any worries, you won’t be the only person feeling anxious or fed up and as a community we can help each other. If you are stuck at home and just want to chat, feel free to put up a post, it doesn’t have to be science based and let’s face it, as equestrians what better subject to chat about than our horses to take our minds off things!
This time won’t last forever and if we are going to talk about science then we will be covering Rider Mental Health and Mindset Training and we will do our best to distract you and engage you; we will be delivering industry news that may help you with your horses, and to maintain a positive outlook on lockdown, use our platform to step away from the daily grind!
Ideas to help you keep busy during lockdown:
Winter is going to mean many of us are indoors more this time around and so try and use the time positively. Our first suggestion is that you take this time to invest in yourself again and we might be able to help you there, this is a chance to expand your knowledge or consolidate it, of course! Why not try and participate in as many of the live webinars this month as you can, pop them in the diary and feel free to join in the chat and ask the experts questions. Below is this month’s line up and some more resources listed below that for you to dip into:
January at a glance…
Thurs 7th – 8pm – Webinar – Topic: Nutrition, by Dr David Marlin, click here, click here
Tues 12th – 8pm – Webinar – Topic: Respiratory Problems, by Dr David Marlin, click here
Thurs 14th – 8pm – Webinar – Topic: Farriery, Recognising the Ideal and why it’s Ideal, by Yogi Sharp, founder of The Equine Documentalist
Wed 20th – 8pm – Webinar – Topic: Biomechanics, by Dr. Russell MacKechnie-Guire
Wed 27th – 8pm – Webinar – Topic: Toyko Olympic Preparation, by Dr David Marlin, who is part of the Olympics Support Team
Online Resources:
Listen to the Podcasts, click here
Read Articles, click here
Watch Previous Webinar Recordings, click here
Chat on our Members Page, click here
Above all, if you are feeling anxious, try and take your mind off things, go for a walk, enjoy the time you have with your horse, don’t be hesitant to reach out to friends, family and the Marlin Community and remind yourself, this won’t last forever – Good Luck everyone.
PROFESSIONAL HELP – If anyone needs professional help, here are some numbers for you, please reach out – NHS Recommended List
